Mommy's Project 52:22 Working

This entire family plans its schedule around Daddy's work schedule. Since I am staying home right now and neither of my kids are in school, everything revolves around when Daddy is off work or when Daddy gets home. This will all change. My oldest will enter kindergarten this fall and when my daughter is old enough to either start kindergarten (fall 2015) or even sooner if she goes into a full time preschool program, I will go back to work and life will change even more dramatically. I can't really comprehend how all that will work. So for now, I intend to enjoy this last spring semester before my son starts Kindergarten because then his school schedule will probably even dictate when Daddy can take his vacation. It will become the dictating schedule.

I mention that Mommy once had a job to my son and he said, "Mommy, you can't ever get a job. You need to take care of us." So for now this family is my work and my joy. But when I think of the word working, I am thinking ahead to a time when I must re-enter the work force. As with most things, when the time comes, I will probably do it slowly and re-enter a day or two at a time and the family will adjust to the new routine. As for now, I am thankful everyday that my work is my family.

On a side note - my in-laws came up for Christmas and are staying with us for a few days. My husband and I will be married 9 years on the 28th and we are leaving for a two day kid-free local get-away! I am so excited. Since we have no family nearby to watch our kiddos this will be an awesome treat. Merry Christmas and a Happy New 2012 to all!

Mommy's Project 52:21 Shopping

Shopping has changed since I had kids. With a 5 year old and an almost 2 year old with me in most cases, shopping has become a very planned process. Things I think about when preparing to go shopping with my kids.

Do I have a fully loaded diaper bag including snacks, drinks, and activities?

Does the place I am going have carts? Even better if they have big kid carts and/or carts in the shapes of cars or spaceships.

How wide are the aisles of the store? Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Michael's, or Hobby Lobby have way too narrow aisles.

When I get to the store I look to see if the cart is dirty, wet, cold, or has broken safety belts.

I check for sanitary wipes to wipe off the front of the cart.

I try to park next to a cart return so when I am finished shopping, it is easier to deposit kids back in car seats and return cart to the cart keeper.

While I am shopping, my attention is always split between quickly finding the items on the list and keeping up a conversation or eye on the kids. Someone is always losing a shoe, dropping a snack, or reaching for something.

You might think all of this takes a lot of time but it really doesn't. It is something I do without thinking. What made me think through this was my husband took the two kids alone to shop for Mommy for Christmas. I can't remember the last time he was out alone with the two kids shopping because if he is along, we are usually out as a family. I thought about running through my this-is-how-you-take-the-kids-shopping list but I decided that he really didn't want me to tell him how to do it. So I just kept my mouth closed. I will let him find his own way. I know they will have a great time shopping with dad.

I didn't have any pictures of us shopping so I call Dad on the cell phone and told him to snap a couple of pictures of them shopping. Here is what I got from his cell phone. Looks like fun!

Mommy's Project 52:20 Cooking

Cooking is something I still find frustrating. It is not my pleasure but something I do because it need to be done. It needs to healthy, it needs to have variety, it need to be something that both my husband and my kids will eat, and it need to be done quickly and efficiently. I have tried lots of different approaches and am still looking for the best way to do it.

I tried index cards with 30 different meal plans and then each week, I will deal out 7 different meals and shop for the ingredients. It worked for a while but then I grew restless with it. Then I tried a weekly meal planner on the refrigerator and planned for the week. It works pretty well as long as I can pick the meal that day depending on circumstances. If I am having a great day, I can spend more time at the stove or prepping veggies but if it is a not so good day then I want something that can be thrown in the oven and baked. With the recent move meal planning has been thrown out the window and replaced with easy to make meals or take-out. I am ready to get my kitchen in order and get back on track.

My son is a picky eater and so I have tried to include him in the meal planning and veggie picking. My husband gets frustrated because I don't make his favorite foods as much. But they are usually not things the kids will eat so he gets what he likes less often.

I have a new kitchen and a new opportunity to get this cooking thing to work for me. I don't think I will ever love to cook but I want to make it more enjoyable and less frustrating. I am looking forward to reading about how other moms handle the chore of cooking.

On the fun side, I do bake with the kids but that is the not the same thing as cooking supper/dinner. Here are some pictures of us making our Christmas cookies this week. They both took their jobs very seriously. I am glad that Daddy likes to eat cookies no matter the color of the frosting or how many sprinkles or fingerprints are on the cookies.

Mommy's Project 52:19 Folding

In honor of this week's topic, I decided to see how letting the kids help fold clothes would work out. It started well but in the end I think I would prefer just to fold them myself while they play around me.

My five year old son can fold washcloths and hand towels but he prefers to fold them his way. He quickly assured me that he could fold all the clothes and I could put them away.

My daughter was very good at picking out clothes and handing them to me but she also wanted to do more.

They both took the job so seriously and kept at it until they proudly announced they were finished. I took their stacks of clothes into the correct bedroom and quickly re-folded them as I put them away. I try to involve the kids in lots of my chores around the house but folding clothes didn't work out for me. Do your kids help you fold laundry?

Mommy's Project 52:18 Styling

I am not good at letting my child dress himself. I have a sweater holder in my son's closet with a complete outfit in each section. He just grabs one and put everything in one section on and then he is good to go. This is the result when he goes for it himself.

(Side note: We have arrived and are in our new home. Yeah. Now for the unpacking. I was so tired that the packing has come to a halt and I have just been playing for a couple of days with the kids. We all needed some down time.)